MUNICH — Ten thousand people, all enjoying litre mugs flowing with fresh Paulaner beer swayed, clapped, hooted and hollered and joined together to sing that oh-so-traditional German song, Sweet Home Alabama.

The lively oompah band churned it out in a way that Lynyrd Skynyrd would appreciate.

I spied a rare empty seat in the packed rafters and grabbed it — and, of course, ordered a beer (there is only one kind — Oktoberfest) to watch the action.

Munich will be celebrating its 181st Oktoberfest from Sept. 20 through Oct. 5, and once again throngs will pile into the Theresienwiese, or festival grounds.

Munich local Thomas Klug, sitting with a few friends, confirmed the event was something special.

“Oh yes, I come every year,” Klug said, adding he planned to ride his bicycle home after his third litre and would be at work at 7:30 the next morning.

I wouldn’t bet on it; lots of habitually punctual Germans call in sick during Oktoberfest.

Generally open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., the festival ground is a blast; like a beer Disneyland.

The “die Wiesen,” as the locals call it, is full of carnival attractions and thrill rides like a small roller coasters, bumper cars, a 13-storey drop zone, kiddie attractions and loads of tasty food stalls.

The 14 beer halls, however, sponsored by Munich breweries, are clearly the most popular attractions. Everyone has a favourite.

Some halls attract a younger crowd, while others attract a less-frenetic audience. Some offer traditional fare, while still others offer a very specific different culinary delicacy.

The historic festival originally began as a celebration of the marriage between Crown Prince Ludwig and Therese, Princess of Saxony, back in 1810.

Parades, games, music and, of course, beer flowed at the huge wedding party. In 1818, Oktoberfest became an official beer festival and has been going strong ever since.

Approximately 1.6 million people show up to enjoy the Oktoberfest grounds and consume beer in the brewery tents every year. Despite all that, Oktoberfest is a wonderfully peaceful scene, inside and out. People come to drink fresh beer, eat and have fun; not to get violent.

Women usually look lovely in these revealing outfits, despite the mandatory and homely “Mary Jane” shoes.

Men, on the other hand, wear lederhosen — brown leather shorts with suspenders. Underneath, they wear a bi-coloured checked flannel shirt, most often red and white or blue and white. Some wear vests, usually green, and white or cream coloured socks pulled up high.

Small shops as well as large department stores in Munich sell proper Oktoberfest gear running anywhere from $100-$600 (or more) for an entire outfit. (Makes a great Halloween costume back home).

“It’s amazing how good a tuba can sound after a few beers,” said Tom Carroll, visiting from Baltimore, Maryland.

With his short brimmed Bavarian hat sporting a tall fluffy feather in the side, the musician pulled out a 15-foot Alpine horn and soloed for a while. The audience roared, he smiled and bowed slightly after his short performance. He then picked up his beer.

Each of the fourteen tents has a different theme and vibe; but for me, the Hacker tent was the prettiest.

Its walls were painted with bucolic Bavarian scenes and the roof is painted like a big blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds.

You might think you’re outside, eating and drinking with 9,999 new friends. I was fortunate to get seated in the balcony, so could overlook the controlled chaos.

The band now belted out the familiar Que Sera Sera followed by rousing rendition of Those Were the Days.

Appetizers soon appeared consisting of radishes (a popular item), a type of pork fat liverwurst and of course, big salty pretzels.

“This is fantastic, there’s nothing like this in England,” said Tony from Ipswich.

Now they are singing Sweet Caroline, and it’s time for another beer. Then that old “traditional” (according to some locals) German disco classic, I Will Survive got the crowd going.

“It’s a panic,” remarked Michael Bannister, visiting from Cambridge, England. “The thing is they all know the songs.”

After Bavarian locals, Italians seemed to be the largest non-German group of attendees, but I also met plenty of Americans, Brits, Aussies, Koreans, Kiwis, Hungarians, Swedes, Swiss, Japanese and Russian people all enjoying the party spirit.

“There is so much energy here,” said visitor Jo Wegstein of Fremont, Calif.

Energy, joy, food, music and plenty of beer; plus you’ve never heard the instrumental Tequila until belted out on tuba and accordion.

If you go

The Munich Theresienwiese, or festival grounds, are centrally located and easy to find. There is a major U-Bahn or subway stop at the eastern entrance. Taxis are plentiful and available at every exit.

Munich has many hotels, in all categories, but they can get filled so book as early as possible. muenchen-tourist.de

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